Arrived

Finally got to AU. We actually were the first ones on the list. Only took 5 passengers. Very cramped but did have regular seats. We left on Mon AM & arrived in Sydney on Tues at 6PM. What a difference...Fooled them tho we didn't have to pay lodging for Mon night!!! It is bloody hot here like 80+ & our room was not AC so we ran a fan all night. We stayed there 3 nights & took the train into Sydney which was just across the street. Very convenient. Saw just about all we needed to see & learned many things in the interim. Food has not been steeler but we hope it will get better. Maybe we'll loose that extra poundage. Have met some wonderful people & then 1 couple not so good but we have overcomed his negativeness. We now are driving w/our rental car & it is stressful but since we are only on a straight highway it is easy....the bad times come in towns & knowing which way to turn & what to look for. Looking for some lunch in this small town & then we'll be on our way. Miss everyone & we'll try & do pictures as soon as we learn how. Love to all Ron & Carol

Anchors Away

We are manifested on a KC-10 leaving Hawaii at 0730 on Monday, today. We were first to be chosen for 5 available seats. We have been at the terminal since 0030, Carol was scared that the aircraft would leave early and we would be left behind. It is the extension of an adventure that has already been exciting and has had some ups and downs. Sleep deprivation will be the major object to overcome in the next couple of days. We hope you all are doing well, we are sure having the experience of our life. Met some more neat people this morning that will be on the flight with us. Have a great week, we will try and stay in touch as much as possible. Blessings to all, ron and carol

Anxious

We are still in Hawaii and have passed on a flight to Japan in preference for a flight to Australia expected to leave on Monday. We don't know if there are any seats and the risk is high. There is another flight to Japan on Monday afternoon that we will try for if the Australian one fails. Our time runs out at the end of this week and we may have to search for new accommodations soon as Hickam does not like you to hold rooms for more than 3 days. This is considered a staging area. We visited with the friends we made on the way out at their seaside cabin last night and had dinner with them and their friends. It was a splendid evening with one of their friends being a college graduate in the field of woodworking. We had a great interaction. We we are off to the gym and then to a meal at the club for our Sunday festival. We pray that tomorrow brings a wonderful trip to Australia on a KC-10 widebody tanker. Best to all who view, ron and carol

Moving On

It is now Thurday and we are at the passenger terminal at Hawaii. We hope to get out tomorrow on a flight to Yakota Japan. Our trip has been great so far, the aircraft have been reasonable pleasant to pass the time in and Carol and I learned to use Free Space ( I think that is what it is called) on the laptop. I tried many times and could not win, Carol tried once and made it through the game with a win. Naturally I provided some help. We are in a two bedroom accommodation with jack and jill bath and kitchenette between. We went shopping at the commissary last night to get breakfast food. Do you detect Carol mind at work here. We are having fun, meeting some really pleasant folks. It is hard to understand the comraderie that exists between service members unless you have been one. It is like a society within a society. We all try and help the other and there are no strangers. Well off to Japan and then who knows. Have a great day, regards, ron and carol

Surfing or bust

Well, we now have boarding passes for the C-17 flight to Hawaii and will arrive there at approximately 1800 or 6:00pm. We had a marvelous time in Tacoma with some new-found friends from New York. We went to the seashore on Pugent Sound and ate at the Harbor Light restaraunt which sits right on the Sound. I had octopus and Carol had salmon, both meals were great and the company and service as well. We spent the morning in our room eating breakfast that we picked up at the commissary. It was a relaxing time and Carol got some good sleep for once. We look forward to our visit to Hawaii and hope that we can get off to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, or Guam the next day. We have reserved a two bedroom apartment for this evening for the price of $56. Not a bad deal for a visit to Hawaii. Hope all is well with all, wish us luck as we continue to move forward. Regards, ron and carol

Cold to Warm

We left McGuire AFB at 0900 after some repairs to the 2nd engine on our C-17. A leaky hydraulic needed a new O-ring. I should have brought some along. We had a very nice flight out with no turbulance but a pretty strong head wind. Arrived here about 1215 noon. Carol had packed some food and both of us caught a little shut-eye on the way. Me on the floor and Carol with her head on my lap. The plane was nearly empty and we had two senior couple who flew with us. They were both very pleasant and very experienced. The one couple is getting a car here in McCord and we will share it to take our bags to the Evergreen Hotel. All is going pretty good so far, not sure what Hawaii has to offer in the way of accomadations or connections. Still an adventure. regards, ron and carol

Travel North to go West

Flight out of Charleston was cancelled at the last minute and after an hour of phone calls we decided to travel north to McGuire AFB, NJ to try and travel west to McCord AFB, Seattle, Wash. Charleston has very little traffic and up here there are three terminals that offer some chance. We are now listed on a C-17 with 50 seats scheduled to travel to McCord this morning at 0800. That is right, this morning as it is now 2:00 am on Tuesday and no sleep has been experienced. Hope all goes well and that my next entry is when I am on the west coast. Have a happy and send us you blessings.

I am still trying to learn how to use this blog in the most elemental way. My first posting did not get published. Hopefully this one will. We hope to make our first leg of the journey tomorrow on a fliight scheduled to depart Charleston AFB at 1616. It is intended to land in Seattle, Wash at McCord AFB. We then hope to travel to Tokoyo, Japan on Thursday using seats we hope to occupy on the Patriot Express DC-8 flight out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We do not know what we will do once we arrive in Japan if we do arrive in Japan. We will keep you advised. Have a great week, we will try and stay in touch.